


CARRIERS - AN EXPLANATION

by TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag



Series: Forgotten; Worshipped, Fic and More [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 03:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag/pseuds/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag
Summary: 'Forgotten; Worshipped', an extra.Carriers explained, answering some questions about Carriers that I was sure some people might have asked themselves.





	CARRIERS - AN EXPLANATION

CARRIERS - An Explanation

Carriers are impish divine creatures, usually about 40 cm in height (toe to top of the head), with ears of about the same size. They have at least two sets of claws with which they are able to claw themselves out of or into reality. A carrier adopts the general look or theme of their respective god and acts as a messenger and sometimes as a sort of servant to their god. No Carrier is the same and with the look of their god they tend to adopt at least some part of their personality (see: Orsino, James' Carrier, who has adopted the grieving bitterness of James). As they adapt to their respective god, the Carriers may develop or gain a number of features and abilities that will aid them in serving their gods. A Carrier might have wings, holes in its ears, webbed feet, scales instead of fur, bells on the end of its tail(s), and much more.

**Where do Carriers come from?**

Every Carrier comes from outside reality, though that was not their original birthplace. They don't technically have one. It's a place unreachable by anyone who is not a Carrier. Though these creatures aren't really born. There is a Carrier for every single god. Only two gods remember where the Carriers came from originally. These gods are the god of Death, Lafayette, and the god of wind, Alexander.

**How do they 'adopt' the look or theme of their gods?**

As there is a Carrier for every god, there is also a Carrier for every god that does not yet exist. These Carriers did not yet adopt the look or theme of their gods, because these gods do not exist yet. Instead, they are basically in default mode in which they all look the same. In this state, a Carrier is grey with fur and a tail like a rat's tail, ears that are as big as it is and only dull claws. There are no special features about these Carriers in this time of their lives. The reason why they only have dull claws then is that this makes it impossible for them to leave outside reality too early when their god does not exist yet. As soon as their gods begin existing, they gain their sharp claws and begin to adopt the look or theme of their gods as they attempt to claw themselves into reality. This process takes some time which is why a Carrier is not immediately present to aide its god in their confusion upon first existing and first being confronted with their duties. How much time it takes depends on each Carrier individually and which god they belong to, how strong its god is, their confidence, etc. 

The Carriers whose god has not yet begun existing are called Blank Carriers, as there is no difference between any of them and one would not be able to tell them apart. A Carrier in the process of gaining its special features while not yet being in reality (while they are clawing their way out/in for the first time) is called a ProCarrier (Progressing Carrier), as they are in the middle of progressing not only into reality but also into themselves. The Carrier, once in its fully developed form, does not have a special term ascribed to them.

**Can Carriers die?**

I shall point you to Alexander's Carrier and say: Yes, absolutely. Carriers can die, but not really naturally. They are divine creatures, this status granting them a form of immortality. However, a Carrier is unfortunately linked to its god. This means that if the god dies, the Carrier dies right with them, forgotten, like its god, by everyone but the other Carriers. Alexander's Carrier did not die immediately upon Alexander's first death (when Alexander was forgotten), like Alexander himself. It fought to stay alive for Alexander, because it knew Alexander needed it, but eventually, it died. Death, for a divine creature, is not like death for a mortal creature. The god of Death does not come to take their spirit into the realm of the dead. Instead, it's almost like they never existed, just the body they leave behind says otherwise.

It is unknown to anyone but other Carriers whereto the remnants of the spirit of the dead Carrier disappears to.

**How does the outside reality work?**

A Carrier, within reality, can scratch at this reality and claw open a path to outside reality. Reality can be imagined as a wall that they have to get through, but I prefer to compare it to a doughnut! The doughnut, everything edible about the doughnut, represents reality, while all the air represents outside reality. If you bite into a doughnut you may notice these little pockets of air, which, in our case, is also outside reality. This is why outside reality is also inside of reality (confused yet?). Carriers will use these little pockets of outside reality as a sort of shortcut to get to the place they need to go to, but faster. But there is also a sort of hot spot in outside reality. That would be the hole in the middle of the doughnut. There is also a bit of outside reality within a Carrier's stomach, but that exists on another plane of outside reality. Imagine that as the air outside of the doughnut (not including the hole in the middle of it).

It is a complex concept that only the Carriers themselves understand fully and thus they are the only ones capable of using it, not to mention the only species with claws sharp enough to rip a hole into reality. (Talk about escaping reality.)

**Where did Carriers originally come from? Who made them?**

Since this will likely not be explained in the story (because I'm not a fan of information dumps when they're not really necessary), I can tell you. A long, long, long, long (798 'long's later), long, LONG time ago, the goddess of Life wanted to create, well, life that would not be taken away by Death, and thus she created the Carriers. At first, there was only one, and through this Carrier she discovered the outside reality, though she could not enter it. She made more Carriers, many, many, many (8000 'many's later), many more and put them all in the outside reality. Her own Carrier (the first one she made) adopted her look/theme and personality very quickly and she decided that every god should have a Carrier. Thusly decided, she gifted every one of her seven friends a Carrier.

She had created the Carriers to be just as immortal as the gods they're connected to, which, eventually, was the one flaw and/or weakness of the Carrier as a species. While, in theory, the Carrier was immortal, being linked to a god to gain said immortality was not Life's best call. The moment the first god of eight died, their essence seeping into reality, their Carrier died with them. Only later did the goddess of life realise this, but it was much too late, and the blessing she had given the Carriers had turned out to be a curse instead.

**What can Carriers do? What are they capable of?**

Carriers can do quite a few things, though most of their abilities do depend on the god they serve. The abilities they all share, however, are: Clawing in and out of reality, storing messages/letters/presents/etc. in their stomach, flying/gliding, jumping very far (they may have small legs, but you'd be surprised), using their tail as a third/fifth hand. The abilities that do not spread across this species are the abilities they gain when they adopt the look/theme of their gods.

Some of those abilities may include: Diving, breathing underwater, digging at incredible speeds, catching fire at will/need, spitting venom, spitting medicine (or healing potions), glowing in the dark, etc, etc.

For every god, there is and will be (not has been), there is a Carrier, and therefore the possible abilities a Carrier might have/acquire may be nigh infinite, as long as there would be gods. As a Blank Carrier they all have the same abilities, while as a ProCarrier and as a fully developed Carrier, they differ greatly.

**Carrier Language**

The Carriers' language is a rather unique one, honestly. No one but the first eight could ever understand them, and in the time of the story only the god of Death and the god of wind can, though Alexander has no real use for this particular skill, as he has no Carrier of his own anymore and rarely gets mail, so he rarely interacts with other Carriers, and even that he only barely does for very personal reasons.

As unique as the Carriers' language is, it is also an amalgamation of every language there is, has been and ever will be, which also takes into account animals, which is why most of their language consists of chirps, squeaks and chattering, and only a minor fraction has more humanly shrieks. some part of their language is also done with sounds that cannot be heard by the ears of mortals, or by most gods. These sounds are more like the buzzing of insects or the call of a bat, too high or too low for any mortal creature to grasp them (without aid or previous exposure or attunement, that is).

The Carrier's language is something that you either understand, or you don't. It is an innate and immediate ability. One may know it, but to understand is another matter entirely.

That being said, is it possible to learn to understand the Carriers' language? The answer to that, as of now, is unknown, as no one who hasn't this innate understanding of the Carrier's language has ever tried to understand it by learning. Though, if I were to be honest, it might be very nearly impossible (only very nearly), seeing as the tongue of such a learner of the language would have to find its way around the oddest of sounds and their ears must be so finely attuned to the highest and lowest of buzz or call. Perhaps not impossible, just highly unlikely. As everything else.

**Body Language**

You might find yourself unsurprised when I tell you that a Carrier's body language differs greatly from Carrier to Carrier, and even from time to time. They are much like mortals in this regard, however, in some instances, their body language can be generalised.

In a work setting (this being around the god they serve and the god(s) they are to deliver something to) their bodies tend to be stiff and ready for duty, calm, ears perked up constantly, hands close to their stomach, standing on hind legs. This is a sort of setting that, in most cases, unfortunately, requires the Carrier to display discipline, obedience and readiness for duty (or order). It is rather unnatural for them and thus they tend to try to flee the scene the very moment their orders have been given.

In a familial setting (this being around other Carriers only) is when they are most relaxed and will assume a position that would, in any other setting, appear as vulnerable. They will assume relaxed positions, on their back, limbs splayed open, body spread and stretched, ears flopping about lazily. This is one of their most natural states of being, the most natural that you will ever find a Carrier to be and act.

Aggression. It isn't often you see an angry Carrier. It is even less often that you will find an openly aggressive Carrier as Carriers are by nature rather peaceful (with minor exceptions). In aggression they will often set themselves on all their feet/hands and crouch, tail high in the air, as if to pounce at any given point, teeth flared and snarling at the object of their aggression. In a milder case, only their fur will stand on edge and they will quietly growl (all in a sort of warning to whoever it is who is threatening them). If pushed far enough (which has only ever happened once before), they will bite at you, though whether they actually manage to bite you or not depends on what/who you are to them and what caused them to feel threatened by you.

Grief. In a state of grief or other forms of extreme sadness or even depression (yes, Carriers can get depressed). The most common position they will be found in, as they cease to care in what state of mind or being they may be found in by other (including the god they are linked to), is curled up on the ground, weeping, sobbing and generally crying, not caring about themselves or the environment or setting they are otherwise in.

Other than these, no other part of their body language can be generalised, due to overly unique circumstances surrounding each Carrier individually and even the listed, generalised settings and reactions cannot be applied to every Carrier equally.

 

**Carriers and relationships**

Carriers are, by the very nature of their being, asexual creatures that do not procreate. However, this does not mean that they do not experience any other sort of relationships in their lives. Most pressing is in this way the platonic types of relationship, which are the most, most common ones, seeing how friendly and peaceful Carriers are by their very nature. They develop a bond near instantly with the god whom they are linked to, and they develop platonic bonds rather quickly in general. However, should the Carrier befriend another being that their god does not approve of, the bond the Carrier had previously developed will wither away quickly. Carriers are fiercely loyal creatures, but their god ranks above all on the list of beings they feel any sort of loyalty for. Though, they may develop bonds that rival the loyalty they feel towards their god.

This bond is a more rare one. It borders on romantic feelings, which, for a Carrier, is a nigh impossible state of bond to achieve. However, this sort of bond, as of now, has only ever occurred between two Carriers, never before between a Carrier and another being. This form of bond is entirely unheard of, as the gods rarely, if ever, care about the things their Carrier might get up to when the Carrier is not needed by the god. The Carrier that they feel such an intense loyalty for is referred to as a Companion. It is a deep bond and cannot, unlike any other bond, be forbidden by either Carrier's god, and can only be severed by one's death. The death of a Companion will leave the affected Carrier forever heartbroken and unable to move on. They may, eventually, return to their duties, but they will forever be tainted by this event, never again be able to feel a lick of happiness, cursed to remain in a state of constant and eternal depression. It is impossible, as of yet, to break a Carrier out of such a state. A Carrier in this state is commonly referred to as a Broken Carrier, or, in cases where the affected Carrier does not display their grief and depression openly, a Chipped Carrier. These terms are only used by the gods, not by the Carriers themselves.

The feelings of a Broken or Chipped Carrier carry such an intensity that completely unaffected Carriers may experience a wave of utter discomfort or even a short period of depression themselves upon seeing or being around a Broken or Chipped Carrier.

The feelings a Carrier carries with itself upon their Companion dying cannot be adequately described. However, it would feel like being ripped to pieces, slowly, then abruptly, all at once, and burned and frozen to the very core, and squashed, and stuck, like shards rubbing into your flesh, tearing into your eyes like claws, drowning, suffocating, all at once. That and more, too many more feelings than can be described with accuracy or precision.

A Broken or Chipped Carrier may attend to its duties like any unaffected Carrier, but its god will notice a difference, especially since such a Carrier often tends to refuse to speak or let out even a single sound. Unless it is weeping for their Companion. Otherwise, they are dead-quiet, carrying the weight of their Companion's death with them until, at some point, the Broken Carrier also dies.

While their gods see and notice the change in their Carriers, they don't care to find a solution, as they believe there is no problem to be solved, seeing as their Carriers still carry out their duties.

 

This has been an essay (sort of, maybe, what qualifies as an essay?) on Carriers. If there are any questions or if I failed to make a clear point at any time, i.e. there were misunderstandings, put them into the comment section below and I will either answer there, or compile your questions and my answers into a second entry.


End file.
